Paper feed apparatus

ABSTRACT

A photocopying machine is provided with a paper feed arrangement wherein a stack of sheets is supported on a floor of a paper feed tray located on a shelf at an operating station beneath paper feed rollers for advancing the sheets from the tray. The forward end of the stack is supported by a plate hingedly connected to the floor, and an upwardly biased lifting member extends upwardly through openings in the shelf and the floor of the tray to lift the forward end of the stack into engagement with the feed rollers at a feeding position. The tray is provided with corner separators to separate an advancing topmost sheet from the remainder of the stack, and the stack is confined between side walls of the tray which guide the sheets being advanced by the feed rollers. The paper feed tray is movable from the operating station to a loading station outside the photocopying machine to facilitate loading another stack of sheets into the tray. To enable sheets of different widths to be used in the photocopying machine, the paper feed arrangement is provided with locating means for enabling paper feed trays accommodating sheets of different widths to be interchangeably placed on the shelf and properly positioned thereon for operation at the operating station.

United States Patent [191 Kuksa Oct. 30, 1973 PAPER FEED APPARATUS Henry R. Kuksa, Chicago, 111.

[73] Assignee: SCM Corporation, New York, NY.

22 Filed: May 18, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 254,797

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 821,763, May 6, 1969.

[75] Inventor:

Primary Examiner-Edward A. Sroka Attorney-Gerald S. Schur [57] ABSTRACT A photocopying machine is provided with a paper feed arrangement wherein a stack of sheets is supported on a floor of a paper feed tray located on a shelf at an operating station beneath paper feed rollers for advancing the sheets from the tray. The forward end of the stack is supported by a plate hingedly connected to the floor, and an upwardly biased lifting member extends upwardly through openings in the shelf and the floor of the tray to lift the forward end of the stack into engagement with the feed rollers at a feeding position. The tray is provided with corner separators to separate an advancing topmost sheet from the remainder of the stack, and the stack is confined between side walls of the tray which guide the sheets being advanced by the feed rollers. The paper feed tray is movable from the operating station to a loading station outside the photocopying machine to facilitate loading another stack of sheets into the tray. To enable sheets of difierent widths to be used in the photocopying machine, the paper feed arrangement is provided with locating means for enabling paper feed trays accommodating sheets of difl'erent widths to be interchangeably placed on the shelf and properly positioned thereon for operation at the operating station.

1 Claim, 13 Drawing Figures Patented Oct. 30, 1973 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 30, 1973 6 Sheets-Sheet 1- mNT Patented Oct. 30, 1973 Li Shoo Ls-Shou t 4 6 Sheets-Sheet U PAPER FEED APPARATUS This is a division of application Ser. No.'82l,763, filed May 5, 1969. i

This invention relates to a paper feed arrangement for separately. advancing a stack of sheets from a feeding position, and more particularly to a photocopying machine having a paper storage compartment wherein the topmost sheet of the stack is separately advanced from the compartment for further processing in the photocopying machine by sheet advancing means which are fixedly located in the compartment.

In the past, sheets of copy paper have been advanced by paper feed arrangements wherein a stack is supported on the floor of a tray and laterally confined between guides which are laterally adjustable to enable sheets of different widths to be placed therebetween. However, in the normal use of a photocopying machine, only copy paper sheets of a single width are used, whether the paper be of a conventional letter size or legal size, and to minimize the cost of the paper feed arrangement, it is desirable that the guides be fixedly mounted on the paper feed tray. Sometimes, however, it is desirable to use sheets of copy paper having a width different from that of the conventional letter or legal size paper, and consequently it is desirable to provide a paper feed arrangement in which different paper feed trays, capable of accommodating stacks of copy paper sheets having different widths, may be interchangeably placed in operating relation with the sheet advancing means and the sheet separating means. I

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a paper feed arrangement wherein a stack of copy paper sheets is laterally confined between fixed side walls of a paper feed tray, and the stack is supported in the paper feed tray by means which enable the stack to be lifted upwardly between the fixed side walls.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a paper feed arrangement wherein a stack of copy paper sheets is supported in a paper feed tray having sheet separating means fixedly mounted thereon and a forward stop is provided for aligning the forward end of the stack of copy paper sheets with the sheet separating means and the means for advancing the topmost sheet from the paper feed tray.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a paper feed arrangement having locating means for locating a paper feed tray at an operating station beneath means for advancing copy paper sheets from the paper feed tray, and wherein stacks of copy paper sheets having different widths may be accommodated in different paper feed trays which may be interchangeably placed at the operating station and aligned with the sheet advancing means by the locating means.

Still other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following detailed description of a single embodiment of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partial cut-away perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a photocopying machine having a paper feed arrangement according to the present invention, and showing a stack of copy paper sheets in a feeding position with the topmost sheet being advanced forwardly from the feeding position;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the paper feed arrangement shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 in 2, and illustrating the condition of the paper feed arrangement when all the sheets of copy paper have been fed from the compartment and with the door covering the compartment being pulled open;

, FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of the paper feed arrangement shown in FIG. 2, and illustrating the condition of the paper feed arrangement when the door is moved further from the opening of the compartment; FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the lines 5-5 in FIG. 2, and illustrating the mechanical connections between the door and the latching mechanism which holds the paper feed tray at an operating station in the compartment;

FIG. 6 is a partial view of the paper feed arrangement in FIG. 5, and illustrating the condition of the latching mechanism as the door is moved from the opening of the storage compartment so as to release the paper feed tray for movement from the operating station in the compartment; I

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view taken along the lines 7-7 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a view of FIG. 6, and illustrating the paper feed tray being pushed from the operating station in the compartment upon the release of the latching mechanism;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of thepaper feed arrangement I nism shown in FIG. 5, and illustrating the condition of the latching mechanism when the paper feed tray loaded with a stack of copy paper sheets is moved to the operating station inside the compartment;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary view of the latching mechanism shown in FIG. 5, and illustrating the condition of the latching mechanism when the door is moved to cover the opening of the storage compartment;

FIG. 12 is a partial view of the shelf shown in FIG. 9 with the paper feed tray 41 removed therefrom; and

FIG. 13 is a partial view of the shelf as shown in FIG.

12 with a paper feed tray 225 for accommodating a stack of copy paper sheets placed on the shelf.

Referring generally to the FIGURES in the drawings,

and particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a photocopying machine, generally indicated 11, for copying original documents onto sheets of copy paper. The photocopying machine 11 includes a housing 13 having a lower compartment, generally indicated at 15, with an opening, generally indicated 17, in the front of the machine 11 which is covered by a door 19. The compartment 15 contains a stack 21 of copy paper sheets in a feeding position, and the sheets are advanced from the feeding position by sheet advancing means in the form of two rubber feed rollers 23, 25 respectively, which are mounted on a drive shaft 27. The drive shaft 27 is rotatably driven by suitable means, not shown, to advance the sheets separately from the feeding position and through an exit throat, generally indicated 29, which guides the incoming sheets into the nip of a pair of cooperating exit rollers 31, 33 which are mounted on drive shafts 35, 37 respectively. The drive shafts 35, 37 are rotatably driven by suitable means, not shown, to remove the sheets from the storage compartment 15 for further processing in the machine 11. The means for rotatably driving the drive shafts 27, 35, 37 have been omitted from the description, sincethey form no part of the present invention.

Inside the housing 13, the drive shaft 27 carrying the feed rollers 23, is rotatably supported between front and back support walls 39, 41 respectively, which are connected to a base plate 43 in the photocopying machine 11 to form the compartment 15. Beneath the feed rollers 23, 25, the stack 21 is supported on a floor 45 of a paper feed tray, generally indicated at 47, which is located at an operating station in the compartment 15. The sheets forming the stack 21 are laterally confined between front and back side walls, 49, 51 respectively, of the paper feed tray 47, and the tray is supported in vertically spaced relation to the feed rollers 23, 25 by a shelf 53. As shown, the paper feed tray 47 is disposed in an opening 55 formed in a box-shaped guide member 57 which serves to approximately locate the paper feed tray 47 at the operating station, and the paper feed tray 47 is positioned on the shelf 53 relative to the exit throat 29 and the feed rollers 23, 25 by locating means, as will be described hereinbelow, so that the side walls 49, 51 guide the sheets from the feeding position as they are advanced by the .feed rollers 23, 25.

As more particularly shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the box-shaped guide member 57 is positioned on the shelf 53 by a vertical slot 59 formed in the bottom of the front wall 61 which receives a turned-up flange 63 formed on the front side of the shelf 53, and the guide member 57 is secured to the shelf 53 by suitable means, for example screws. The shelf extends through an opening 65 in the back support wall 41 and is supported in vertically spaced relation to the feed rollers 23, 25 by identical bearing members with U-shap ed crosssectional configurations mounted thereon to enable the shelf 53 to slide easily from the compartment 15. The forward and rearward ends 72, 74 respectively, of the shelf 53 are turned downwardly into a U-shaped crosssectional configuration engaging the surfaces of the U- shaped bearing members so as to guide the shelf 53 along the rails 53, 55 during movement through the opening 17 of the compartment 15. v

The guide member 57 may be constructedfrom a suitable light weight and substantially nondeformable material, such as a rigid plastic or aluminum. The bearing members 75 mounted on the flanges 71, 73 of the guide rails 53, 55 respectively, may be constructed from a suitable material, such as a rigid vinyl plastic, to provide a smooth surface having a low coefficient of friction to enable the shelf 53 to slide easilyfrom the compartment 15.

As shown, the forward end of the stack 21 is lifted upwardly to a feeding position with the topmost sheet 76 engaging the feed rollers 23, 25. The forward end of the stack 21 is supported by a plate 77 hingedly connected by suitable means to the floor 45 of the paper feed tray 47, and the plate 77 is lifted upwardly by a lifting member. generally indicated 79. As more particularly shown in FIGS. 2 and 9, the plate 77 is hingedly connected to the paper feed tray 47 by tabs 81 formed on the rearward end of the plate 77 which are received through openings 83 formed in the floor 45 and bent rearwardly so as to form a hinged connection over which the copy paper sheets may easily'slide. To facilitate the pivotal movement of the tabs 81 when the plate 77 is lifted upwardly, suitable openings 85 are formed in the shelf 53 through which the tabs 81 may move.

The lifting member 79 engaging the back side of the hinged plate 77 includes a finger bracket 87 swivelly supported on the end of a rod 89 which is bent to an L-shape and pivotally mounted on the base plate 43 by a suitable bracket 91. The finger bracket 87 has two spaced upright fingers 93, which extend through openings 97, 99'respectively, formed in the shelf 53 and openings 101, 103 respectively, formed in the floor 45 to engage the hinged plate 77. The swivel connection of the finger bracket 87 on the end of the rod 89 enables the lifting pressure applied to the back side of the hinged plate 77 to be equalized between the two upright fingers 93, 95. The lifting member 79 is resiliently biased upwardly to move the hinged plate 77 toward the feed rollers 23, 25 by means of a torsion spring 105 which is disposed about the rod 89 to urge it upwardly.

As the topmost sheet 76 is advanced from the paper feed tray 47 by the rotatably driven feed rollers 23, 25, theadjacent sheets of the stack 21 tend to move forwardly due to the frictional contact between the sheets of copy paper. The forward movement of the stack 21 is prevented by a forward wall 107 of the paper feed tray 47 which serves as a paper feed stop. To prevent more than one sheet at a time from being fed from the feeding station, sheet separating means are provided to separate the advancing topmost sheet 76 from the remainder of the stack 21. in the preferred embodiment, the separating means are in the form of corner separators 109, 1 1 1 which are symmetrically opposite and engage the forward corners of the topmost sheet 76. As shown, the corner separators 109, 111 are formed inte I grally with .the forward wall 107 of the paper feed tray 47 and have a triangular shape extending across the floor 45 from the forward wall 107 to the side walls 49, 51 respectively. However, the corner separators 109, 111 could be formed independently of the paper feed tray 47 and connected thereto by suitable means, or be formed integrally with the side walls 49, 51 respectively.

Upon advancement of the topmost sheet 76 by the rotatably driven feed rollers 23, 25, the corner separators 109, 111 hold the forward corners of the sheet 71 to prevent them from moving and thereby cause them to buckle and bend as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As is known, the forward corners of the topmost sheet 76 continue to bend until the resiliency of the advancing sheet causes the forward corners thereof to move over thejcorner separators 109, 111, thereby separating the advancing topmost sheet 76 from the remainder of the stack 21. The front and back side walls 49, 51 of the paper feed tray 47 serve as guides for the advancing sheet 76, and upon further advancement the sheet 76 .moves into the exit'throat 29 which, in the preferred embodiment, is formed by forward and rearward arcuate shaped walls 113, 115 respectively, supported between the front and back support walls 39, 41. The converging arcuate shaped exit throat 29 guides the incoming sheet into the nip of the rotatably driven rollers 31, 33 which remove the sheet from the compartment 15.for further processing in the photocopying machine 11.

As the sheets forming the stack 21 are fed from the feeding position, the stack 21 diminishes and the upwardly biased lifting member 79 presses the hinged plate 77 upwardly to bring the succeeding topmost sheets of the diminishing stack 21 into engagement with the feed rollers 23, 25. When the stack diminishes to only a few sheets, there is a tendency for more than one sheet at a time to be fed from the feeding position, and to prevent this from happening friction pads 117, constructed from a suitable material, for example cork, are placed on the plate 77 beneath the rollers 23, 25. The lifting member 79 continues to move upwardly as the stack 21 diminishes until the last sheet has been fed from the feeding position, whereupon the photocopying machine 11 must be loaded with another stack of copy paper sheets for further use.

When it is desirable to load another stack of copy paper sheets into the photocopying machine 11, it is first necessary to move the door 19 to uncover the opening 17 of the compartment 15, lower the upwardly biased lifting member 79, and move the paper feed tray 47 from the operating station inside the compartment to a loading station outside the photocopying machine 11 as shown in FIG. 9. To facilitate the lowering of the upwardly biased lifting member 79, the door 19 is hingedly connected to the wall 39, and operating means are provided to move the relatively biased lifting member 79 downwardly to the position shown in FIG. 4 in response to the movement of the door 19 to uncover the opening 17.

As more particularly shown in FIG. 3, the operating means is in the form of a camming plate 119 which is connected to the door 19 by a suitable linkage 121 so as to move laterally as the door 19 is opened. The rod 89 of the lifting member 79 extends through a vertical slot 123 formed in a bracket 125 mounted on the base plate 53, and through an opening 127 formed in the camming plate 119. The opening 127 is'partially'defined by a diagonal camming surface 129 leading downwardly to a horizontal surface 131. The camming plate 119 is supported for lateral sliding movement in response to movement of the door 19 by laterally protruding studs 133, 135 on the bracket 125 which are received in horizontal slots 137, 139 respectively, formed in the camming plate 119 on laterally opposite sides of the opening 127.

When the door 19 is moved to uncover the opening 17 of the compartment 15, the lateral movement of the diagonal camming surface 129 forces the rod 89 downwardly until the upright fingers 93, 95 are lowered beneath the shelf 53 as shown in FIG. 4. To facilitate the downward movement of the rod 89 by the diagonal camming surface 127, the portion of the rod 89 extending through the vertical slot 123 and the opening 127 may be covered by a sleeve 141 which provides an easy sliding surface and may be constructed from a suitable material, such as nylon. Upon further movement of the door 19, the rod 89 moves downwardly beneath the horizontal surface 131 of the camming plate 119 as shown in FIG. 5, which maintains the ifting member 79 in the lowered position as the camming plate 119 continues to move laterally in response to the continued opening movement of the door 19.

To facilitate the movement of the paper feed tray 47 from the operating station inside the compartment 15 to the loading station, the photocopying machine 11 is provided with means to move the shelfa short distance through the opening 17 in response to the uncovering movement of the door 19. As more particularly shown in FIG. 5, when the paper feed tray 47 is at the operating position, the shelf 53 is being urged toward the opening 17 by moving means in the form of a plunger 143 which is located outside the compartment 15 and resiliently biased for movement toward the opening 17. The plunger 143 is supported for sliding movement into the compartment 15 with one end thereof extending through a'bore 145 formed in the wall 41, and the opposite end extending through a bore 147 formed in a bracket 149 which is attached to the backside of the wall 41. The plunger 143 has a collar 151 located between the wall 41 and the bracket 149, and the plunger 143 is urged into engagement with the shelf 53 by resilient biasing means in the form of a coiled spring 153 disposed about the plunger 143 and compressed between the collar 151 and the bracket 149.

While the paper feed tray 47 is at the operating station and being urged toward the opening 17 by the resiliently biased plunger 143 engaging the shelf 53, the

shelf 53 is prevented from moving by latching means. As shown, the latching means is in the form of a latching hook 155 which is pivotally supported by a bracket 157 mounted on the base plate 43, and engages the backside of a latching flange 159 attached to the bottom of the shelf 53 by suitable means, such as screws 161. The latching hook 155, in conjunction with the latching flange 159 on the bottom of the shelf 53, determines the location of the operating station for the paper feed tray 47 mounted on the shelf 53, and the latching flange 159 may be adjusted laterally so as to vary the location of the operating station relative to the feed rollers 23, 25.

To enable the resiliently biased plunger 143 to push the shelf 53 through the opening 17 of the compartment 15 upon the uncovering movement of the door 19, the latching mechanism is provided with releasing means in the form of a pawl 163 and an actuating rod 165. The pawl 163 is supported by the bracket 157 for pivotal movement about the same axis as the latching hook 155, and has a camming flange 167 for engagement by the actuating rod 165. The actuating rod 165 is connected to the door 19 by a bell crank 169, and is supported for sliding movement past the camming flange 167 of the pawl 163 by a pin 171 protruding from a post 173 mounted on the base plate 43. As shown, the pin 171 is received into a slot 175 extending longitudinally in the actuating rod 165 and serves to guide the rod 165 during sliding movement past the camming flange 167 of the pawl 163.

Upon further opening movement of the door 19, the rod 165 slides laterally along the pin 171 until a stud 177 on the end of the rod 165 engages the backside of the camming flange 167 and forces the pawl 163 downwardly. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the pawl 163 has a flange 179 extending over the latching hook 155, and as the pawl 163 is forced downwardly in response to the opening movement of the door 19, the flange 179 forces the latching hook 155 downwardly until the latching flange 159 is released as shown in FIG. 6.

When the latching mechanism releases the shelf 53 for movement, the compressed spring 153 pushes the plunger 143 into thecomaprtment 15, as shown in FIG. 8, and moves the shelf 53 through the opening 17. At substantially the same time, the continued opening movement of the door 19 moves the stud 177 on the actuating rod 165 past the camming flange 167 of the pawl 163, and the latching hook 155 is pivoted upwardly by means of a torsion spring 181. As more particularly shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the torsion spring 181 is disposed on the forward side of the bracket 157 between the base plate 43 and a pin 183 protruding laterally from the latching hook 1-55. The torsion spring 181 pivots the latching hook 155 upwardly, and the pawl 163 is carried upwardly therewith by the flange 179 extending over the top of the latching hook 155.

As more particularly shown in FIG. 8, the compressed spring 153 pushes the plunger 143 into the compartment and forces the paper feed tray 47 from the operating station until the collar 151 of the plunger 143 engages the wall 41. As the shelf 53 moves through the opening 17 of the compartment 15, the forward and rearward ends 72, 74 respectively, slide along the smooth surface provided by the bearing member 75 mounted on the forward and rearward rails 67, 69 respectively. As the shelf 53 moves through the opening 17, the feed rollers 23, 25 carried by the shaft 27 and the portion of the wall 39 supporting the shaft 27 are received through recesses 185, 187 formed in the upper surfaces of the guide member 57, and through recesses 189, 191 formed in the front and back side walls 49, 51 respectively, of the paper feed tray 47.

After the shelf 53 has been pushed a short distance from the compartment 15 by the resiliently biased plunger 143, the tray 47 may be manually moved the remainder of the distance to the loading station, as shown in FIG. 9. When the paper feed tray 47 reaches the loading station, a stop 193, extending laterally from a back portion of the shelf 53, engages the wall 39 to prevent further movement of the paper feed tray 47. To facilitate the movement of the paper feed tray 47 to the loading station, a handle recess 195 is formed in the front wall 61 of the guide member 57 which may be easily gripped by an operator.

When the paper feed tray 47 is at the loading station outside the photocopying machine 1 1, as more particularly shown in FIG. 9, it is readily accessible by an operator. The hinged plate 77 lies on the floor 45 and nothing needs to be moved before placing a stack. of copy paper sheets in the paper feed tray 47. Accordingly, an operator may easily place a stack of sheets onto the floor 45 of the paper feed tray 47 between the front and back side walls 45, 47 respectively, and slide the stack forwardly beneath the rearwardly extending corner separators 109, 111 in preparation for further use of the photocopying machine 11. To facilitate the sliding,

movement of the stack over the pads 117 on the plate 77, a raised portion may be formed in the plate 77 adjacent to each pad 117 to serve as a ramp leading the stack of sheets onto the pads 117.

After loading a stack of sheets into the paper feed tray 47, the shelf 53 is manually moved back through the opening 17 into the compartment 15. As shown in FIG. 10, the sliding movementof the shelf 53 into the compartment along the guide rails 67, 69, pushes the plunger 143 through the bore 145 in the back support wall 41 and compresses the spring 153. The continued movement of the shelf 53 into the compartment 15 brings the latching flange 159 into engagement with a camming surface 199 formed on the latching hook 155. The latching hook 155 is pivoted downwardly untilv the latching flange 159 moves past the camming surface 199 whereupon the torsion spring 181 pivots the latching hook upwardly behind the latching flange 159 to hold the paper feed tray 47 at the operating station in the compartment 15.

When the paper feed tray 47 is at the operating station, the forward end of the stack 21 of sheets may be lifted upwardly against the feed rollers 23, 25 by moving the door 19 to cover the opening 17 of the compartment. As the door 19. is pivoted upwardly, both the camming plate 119 and the actuating rod move laterally inside the compartment 15. As shown in FIG. 5, the lifting member 79 is maintained in the lowered position by the horizontal surface 131 of the camming plate 119. Further movement of the actuating rod 165 into the compartment 15 brings the stud 177 on the end of the rod 165 into engagement with the front side of the camming flange 167, as shown in FIG. 11 and pivots the pawl 163 upwardly out of engagement with the latching hook 155. The pawl 163 is resiliently biased downwardly by a tension spring 201 connected between the pawl 163 and the base plate 43, and as the stud 177 moves past the camming flange 167, the pawl 163 pivots downwardly until the flange 179 engages the engagement with the sleeve 141 on the rod 89. Further inward movement of the camming plate 119 enables the resiliently biased rod 89 to move upwardly with the spaced upright fingers 93, 95 being received through the openings 97, 99 in the shelf 53 and through the openings 101, 103 in the floor 45 until they engage the backside of the hinged plate 77. Continued upward movement lifts the portion of the stack on the hinged plate 77 upwardly to the feeding position and presses the topmost sheet 71 into engagement with the feed rollers 23, 25, in preparation for further use of the photocopying machine 11.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that copy paper sheets of only one width may be fed from the paper feed tray 47, because it is necessary for the forward corners of the topmost sheets to engage the corner separators 109, 111 and be guided by the front and back side walls 49, 51 respectively, as they are advanced from the feeding position by the feed rollers 23, 25. However, oftentimes it is desirable to use sheets of copy paper having a width narrower than the width of the sheets of copy paper which may be accommodated by the paper feed tray 47. Since the paper feed tray 47 cannot be laterally adjusted to accommodate sheets having a narrower width, it is necessary to provide a paper feed arrangement for the photocopying machine 11 wherein other paper feed trays for accommodating sheets of copy paper having narrower widths may be interchangeably placed on the shelf 53.

However, irrespective of the particular tray being used in the photocopying machine 11, it is necessary that the stack of copy paper sheets be centered beneath the feed rollers 23, 25 so that the sheets may be advanced from the feeding position without being skewed. Furthermore, the trays must have openings corresponding to the openings 97, 99 formed in the shelf 53 so that the upright fingers 93, 95 of the lifting member 79 may move upwardly therethrough into engagement with the hinged plates. Also, the plates must be hingedly connected to the floors of the trays at the same spaced location relative to the paper feed rollers so as to provide a common lifting angle enabling all of the sheets to be fed from the paper feed trays. Furthermore, the corner separators must have the same vertical spacing relative to, the feed rollers 23, 25 to enable the topmost sheet of a stack supported by the hinged plates to be separated from the remainder of the stack upon advancement from the feeding position by the feed rollers 23, 25.

As previously mentioned, the tray 47 is positioned on the shelf 53 by locating means so that the front and back side walls 49, 51 respectively, guide the sheets from the feeding position as they are advanced by the feed rollers 23, 25. As more particularly shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 9, the paper feed tray 47 is generally located on the shelf 53 by the opening in the box-like guide member 57, and the forward end of the paper feed tray 47 is more precisely located on the shelf 53 by a lip 203 extending forwardly into a recess 205 formed in the bottom of the forward wall 207 of the guide member 57 and between two spaced locating tabs 209, 211. The tabs 209, 211 protrude upwardly fromthe shelf 53 into the'recess 205, and the lip 207 engages the tabs 209, 211 to laterally position the tray 47 on the shelf 53. To prevent the paper feed tray 47 from pivoting laterally about the forward locating tabs 209, 211, a slot 213 is formed in the rearward end of the floor 45 which receives a locating tab 215 protruding upwardly from the shelf 53. Another tab 217 for positioning a smaller tray on the shelf 53 protrudes upwardly from a central portion of the shelf 53 and is covered by a raised relief 219 formed in the floor 45 to enable a stack of sheets to slide into the tray 47 during a loading operation. As shown, the lip 203 may be formed by bending aportion of the forward wall 107 of the tray 47 downwardly, and the tabs 209, 211, 215 and 217 may be formed by bending portions of the shelf upwardly. In addition, the paper feed tray 47 is located on the shelf 53 by downwardly extending nipples 221 formed in the corners of the floor 45 which are received into corresponding openings 223 formed in the shelf 53.

When it is desired to use sheets of copy paper in the photocopying machine 11 with a width different from that which may be accommodated by the paper feed tray 47, the tray 47 may be removed from the shelf 53 and replaced by another paper feed tray which will accommodate sheets of copy paper of the desired width.

To remove the paper feed tray 47 from the shelf 53, the.

rearward end of the tray 47 is lifted upwardly and at the same time the lip 203 is moved from under the recess 205 formed in the bottom of the forward wall 207 of the guide member 57, thereby uncovering the shelf 53 shown in FIG. 12.

After the paper feed tray 47 has been removed from the shelf 53, another paper feed tray 225 for accommodating sheets of copy paper having the desired narrower width may be placed on the shelf 53 at a centered position. Although a paper feed tray having the same length as the tray 47 could be used, as shown the paper feed tray 225 is narrower and shorter than the paper feed tray 47, but in other respects is generally identical to the tray 47 and accordingly similar reference numerals have been placed on similar portions thereof. As shown in FIG. 13, the tray 225 may be placed on the shelf 53 by inserting the forward lip 203' and the rearward end of the tray 225 may be lowered onto the shelf 53 with the tab 217 being received in the slot 213' formed in the floor 45 of the tray 225. In addition, the tray 225 has downwardly extending nipples 221' formed in the floor 45'- which are received into corresponding openings 227 formed in the shelf 53.

With the paper feed tray 225 properly positioned on the shelf 53, the tabs 81' forming the hinged connection for the plate 77' are received into the openings 85 formed in the shelf 53, and the openings 97, 99 in the shelf 53 are aligned with corresponding openings 101, 103 respectively, formed in the floor 45' of the tray 225 to enable the upright fingers 93, 95 of the lifting member 79 to move upwardly therethrough into engagement' with the hinged plate 77'. In addition, recesses 189", 191' formed in the front and back side walls 49, 51 respectively, of the paper feed tray 225 are aligned with the recesses 185, 187 formed in the side walls of the guide member 57 so as to enable the shelf 53 and the paper feed tray 225 mounted thereon to be moved into the compartment 15.

Accordingly, a stack of copy paper sheets having the desired narrower width may be inserted in the paper feed tray 225 in the same manner as previously described in connection with the paper feed tray 47. The

shelf 53 may then be moved into the compartment 15 until the paper feed tray 225 is located at the operating station, whereupon the latching hook 155 engages the back side of the latching flange 159 to hold the shelf 53 in the compartment 15. The door 19 may then be moved to cover the opening 17, thereby enabling the upwardly biased lifting member 79 to move upwardly with the upright fingers 93, 95 being received through the openings 101', 103' to lift the hinged plate 77' upwardly and press the topmost sheet of the stack into en- 1. A paper feed tray comprising a floor for supporting a stack of sheets, a side wall connected to said floor for aligning the side of a stack of sheets on said floor, a corner separator connected to said floor adjacent to said side wall for separating an advancing topmost sheet from the remainder of the stack, said corner separator being vertically spaced above said floor and located'adjacent said side wall, a plate mounted on said floor for supporting the portion of the stack beneath said corner separator, saidplate being movable upwardly to move the portion of the stack supported thereon into operating relation with said corner separator, said plate being substantially nondeformable relativeto the sheets supported thereon, and said floor having an opening formed therein beneath said plate to enable a lifting member to move upwardly therethrough and lift said plate upwardly to bring the topmost sheet of the stack into the recess 205 between the locating tabs 209, 211,

thereon into operating relation with said comer separator. 

1. A paper feed tray comprising a floor for supporting a stack of sheets, a side wall connected to said floor for aligning the side of a stack of sheets on said floor, a corner separator connected to said floor adjacent to said side wall for separating an advancing topmost sheet from the remainder of the stack, said corner separator being vertically spaced above said floor and located adjacent said side wall, a plate mounted on said floor for supporting the portion of the stack beneath said corner separator, said plate being movable upwardly to move the portion of the stack Supported thereon into operating relation with said corner separator, said plate being substantially nondeformable relative to the sheets supported thereon, and said floor having an opening formed therein beneath said plate to enable a lifting member to move upwardly therethrough and lift said plate upwardly to bring the topmost sheet of the stack thereon into operating relation with said corner separator. 